


Learning Curve

by adrunkgiraffe



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Chatlogs, Episode: s05e19 The First Duty, I'm not projecting onto either of them, Josuke also has issues, M/M, Mutual Pining, Okuyasu has issues, Okuyasu is allowed to be upset at his dad, Partial, Post-JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable, Rare Pairings, Slow Burn, Star Trek AU, Starfleet Academy, Tutoring, Well I'M BACK AT IT AGAIN, Wesley has issues, for the jojos, hey remember that time i wrote slowburn of John Hunger and Ben Sisko, no, please give these boys some therapy, stupid stupid shit, what
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27679148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adrunkgiraffe/pseuds/adrunkgiraffe
Summary: Wesley is struggling after having to repeat a year. Okuyasu is struggling in Warp Mechanics. Both are struggling with the ways their childhoods have affected them. What will they do?
Relationships: Joshua Albert/Wesley Crusher, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Wesley Crusher/Nicholas Locarno, Wesley Crusher/Nijimura Okuyasu
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! Back again with another niche crossover.  
> \- For the Trek-only fans, this is an AU where a bunch of unruly teens from one small Japanese town come in and fuck up (read: fix) Wes' life after that whole Starburst incident.  
> \- For the JoJo-Only fans, this is a futuristic/Sci-fi/Star Trek AU where, after beating Kira, the kids somehow get into (what is essentially in universe) Super Space College, or Starfleet Academy  
> \- For both: Hi! Do you think Wes and Okuyasu work well together? Hah, neither did I until I wrote this! Please give these boys some therapy. 
> 
> Also: This rounds out my new upload schedule: alternating chapters of these fics once a week.

When Guinan had approached him in Ten Forward while he brooded over the loss of his first love, he hadn’t really understood what she’d meant that every time he fell in love would be a little bit different. 

At the time, it made him feel a bit worse, even when she explained it. It meant that the way he’d felt with that girl could never be felt again, that sweet pash of innocent first love and getting to reclaim their childhoods together. It meant that reclamation in and of itself was lost.

Later, after the Incident, he saw that wisdom as a bitter mercy. On the one hand, he might learn from all of this. Learn not to be swayed by someone cooler and older than him like Nick. Learn not to take too-soft comfort, and then never have to deal with it ripped away when he finally got enough conscience to admit what they’d all done. 

On the other, however, it meant that what he’d had with Josh - the joking around, the pride he felt when something finally clicked for him in Stats, the ski trip and the blush on Josh’s cheeks when he handed him his sweater - that would be lost too. He was running out of ways to let himself be a stupid teenager.

Those were the memories flowing through his mind when a group of what would have been his underclassmen plopped down at the table next to his. He’d taken to sitting alone this year, largely out of shame. The isolation may not have actually helped the student body trust him again, but at least he didn’t have to think about it anymore. He didn’t talk to either of his former teammates, either. He had a feeling that Sito and Jean didn’t really want to remember why they were retaking all these classes. 

It should at this juncture be noted that Wesley was, in fact, still a stupid teenager, and thus was unused to dealing with his utter despair in anything resembling a healthy manner. For further explanation, look no further than the influences of Riker, Geordi, Worf, and, worst of all, Picard.

However we are not here to speak of Wesley's many, many problems, but his few paths out of them. One such path was about to open up to him with the arrival of three human boys and one Half vulcan girl. See, they were having a very specific conversation in the mess hall that day. 

“I’m telling you, she’s gonna fail me.” One of the boys grumbled, un-mussing his frankly ridiculous hairstyle. It kind of looked like the pompadours of Earth's late 20th century. 

“But you’re usually so great at battle sims, at least when we do them after class.” A shorter boy puzzled out. 

“That is because you are less demanding of him than the teacher is, Koichi.” The Vulcan girl spoke up from next to him. “You are too good to him. Whenever anyone actually tells Josuke to do something in a battle simulation, he just blows them off.”

“I DO NOT!” Josuke shouted, standing up and slamming his palm on the table, “That teacher just hates me! End of story! I’m always there when it counts...” He slumped back in his chair as he grumbled out the last bit. In spite of himself, the energy of the conversation was making it hard for Wesley not to listen in. 

“Oh?” The Vulcan raised an eyebrow “So you have read the protocol manual? You know what you are supposed to do in a given scenario?”

“Well I- I know how to think things through and get out ahead in the end. Isn’t that important to know as a captain?”

“Just because you are on the track for command red, does not mean that should be your only focus. Perhaps, given your passion for healing and...creative thinking...you should look into starfleet medical as well.”

“Well- No. I want to be a captain. Being a captain is cool. Besides, not every science officer gets to go to space. They can’t all be Jotaro, right?”

“What about engineering? You still have time to sign up for quantum mechanics with me and Okuyasu.” The shorter boy pointed to the fourth member of their group, whose head was in his hands. 

“I don’t want to change tracks alright? Though speaking of- Okuyasu? You doin alright? You’ve hardly touched your plomeek stew and you haven’t said a word since class got out. Both of those things are...not normal for you.”

“I’m....mrfdjjehe...”

“What? I didn’t quite hear you!” Josuke leaned in, cupping an exaggeration hand around his ear. 

“I’M FAILING WARP MECHANICS AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ALRIGHT?” Okuyasu looked up suddenly, and Wesley could swear there were tears in his eyes. He felt a pang of pity, even as the outburst hurt his prying ears. 

“What do you mean? You’re great at engineering type stuff! You’re like...the only reason I passed my entry level requirements last semester!” Josuke sounded genuinely troubled as he comforted his friend, still talking way too loudly.

“I am! At least...I thought I was...but...the problems she’s having us do have so much more to do with formal stuff about chem and abstract shit...And the math gets so much more complicated than just being able to figure out how stuff moves through space...I can’t do it!”

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier? We could have helped or- gotten help. Yukako is great at math-“

“I was embarrassed okay? Engineering is like the one thing I’m good at. I’m not smart but- I can think through most things right? Like Josuke with command-“

Josuke looked angry at that comment, but seemed to let it slide due to his friend's compromised state.

“So getting this wrong? It’s humiliating me, it makes me feel like I don’t belong here. And-well- going to Yukako...would have made me feel worse.”

“She would have roasted the shit out of you, bro.” Josuke nodded seriously. Yukako’s lack of any objection was incredibly telling. 

“Okuyasu. Even if you’re having trouble with warp mechanics, I hope you know we’re not gonna mock you for it.” Koichi attempted to comfort him, seemingly the only one in the group capable of an adult conversation.

“You won’t?” Okuyasu looked incredibly relieved. Suddenly, Wesley realized he’d seen that face before. He’d had to retake Physics 210 this semester after all of his credits had been voided and this kid had been a loud middle ranker in terms of score. But if his warp and chem struggles were this pronounced then even placing into that class was impressive. 

“We won’t?”Josuke and Yukako both echoed in confused unison.

“No. We won’t.” Koichi repeated through clenched teeth. 

“Yeah of course we won’t. I can’t even do BASIC math. I have no place to judge!” Josuke over eagerly pat his friend on the back.

“That is not something to use as a comfort, Josuke Higashikata.” Yukako muttered. “But yes, we will not judge you for not being proficient in warp chemistry.”

“And you can still get help from us if you need it! It’s only midterms, after all, we can probably get you up to a D by finals!” The other three exchanged a silent look over Koichi's cheery little head, remembering the last study session they’d had, which had nearly resulted in Okuyasu‘s untimely demise. 

“Uh, maybe not. I think that would just make me feel shittier.” 

“Then what about the math and science center? We could probably all go together to help you feel more comfortable-“

“I don't think I could even explain enough how lost I am, so that wouldn’t work either.”

“Well surely there’s someone on campus smart enough to help you with warp theory while also being nice enough not to make fun of you for having issues with it-” Before Wesley really knew what he was doing, he had cleared his throat and turned around in his chair.

“I uh. I’m sorry I couldn’t help but overhear and I’m actually kind of acing that class. For a second time. So I could probably help you if you-“ 

“I’m sorry, bucko, but this is a private conversation?” Josuke flatlined, suddenly standoffish and rude. As to probably be expected given public knowledge of the Nova Squadron incident.

“If you wanted to keep it private you probably shouldn’t have shouted it across half the mess hall, then.” Wesley replied with instinctive sarcasm.

“He certainly has us there.” Yukako pondered matter of factly.

“How do you ace a class twice?” Koichi wondered aloud.

“Oh well. I uh. I had to um.” Wesley felt his cheeks heat up and his throat go dry as four pairs of eyes settled on him. “Well there was an error or something in the computer so I ended up scheduled for the class twice in a row and by the time I noticed, all of the other electives in that time slot got filled so-“

“Okay we don’t need your whole life story.” Josuke cut him off with a bored voice, mercy of small mercies. 

“So you must know that class backwards and forwards!” Okuyasu sounded genuinely impressed.

“Absolutely!” His voice cracked a bit. “But um. Don’t worry about struggling. Warp stuff is complicated. I only got the chem part down cause I have practical experience from growing up on a starship, so I had good teachers. I’d be happy to help!” He kept up the smile. It wasn’t going down well with Josuke or Yukako But Koichi And Okuyasu seemed to be buying it.

“Cool. Thanks! Um. What’s your name though? If you’re going to be helping me pass and all.” 

“Yeah what IS your name, bud?”

“Oh um.” Shit. He’d gotten this far because they didn’t recognize him as one of those cadets that had let a fellow student die and then lied about it at the end of last term. Now it was all going to end. “Um. Wesley Crusher.” 

“Damn. No need to sound so defeated about it.” Josuke recoiled. “I mean it’s an embarrassing name but not like that bad right?” He instantly had become more friendly to Wesley as soon as he’d started looking glum, though his overall suspicion didn’t seem to have changed much.

“I’m Josuke Higashikata.”

“Koichi Hirose.” 

“Yukako Yamagishi.”

“And I'm Okuyasu Nijimura.” Okuyasu extended his hand. “I guess we’re going to be study buddies from now on, huh, Wesley?”

“I guess.”

—

“So what about extracurricular stuff? Made any new friends?” His mother smiled from the viewscreen as they continued their weekly call.

“Don’t put it like that, I’m not in grade school, mom.”

“I know, but you’ve seemed so lonely these last few months. I don’t want you to isolate yourself.” 

“Well uh-” He scrambled through his nonexistent social life “I am gonna start tutoring someone in my spare time.”

“Oh that should be good! You’ll be great at that, after all, didn’t you help- oh.” She broke off at that, not wanting to say his name. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine mom. But yeah, it’ll be good to get back to it again.”  
—

“What are your intentions towards Okuyasu?” Josuke had stopped him outside of his Federation History lecture and was fixing him with a kind of glare.

“What do you mean? I’m going to teach him warp mechanics and chem to help him pass.” He tried to brush him off but Josuke grabbed his shoulder with unexpected strength and aggression.

“Are you sure? You’re not gonna...make a fool of him are you?” His gaze was suddenly very serious.

“Um...no? What does that even-?”

“Listen, don’t tell him I said this but Okuyasu is a great guy. One of the best I’ve ever met. And I don’t want some fancy upperclassman and lazy savant tutoring him just to- to make fun of him to his upperclassmen friends.”

“Well one, I’m in the same year as you.” The pedantry did not go over well. “But also I uh. I don’t have any friends in any year. So. No worries there.”

“Oh. Uh. Well sorry about that. That sucks man.” Josuke took his arm away. 

“Eh. That’s just what happens when most of your friends in your early teens are adults.” Even before Nick, he’d not exactly been popular.

“Tell me about it. So wait, if you’re not doing this to be an asshole, or for official credit, why are you helping Okuyasu?”

“Well I Uh. He just looked so forsaken when he was telling you guys And I wanted to help, y’know? And I kind of get what it feels like to let people down, even if they tell you you haven’t.”

“Cause you’re repeating a year?” Josuke noticed his look of surprise. “You’re defo older than us, and you were pretty clearly lying about the scheduling error yesterday. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna pry more. God knows I don’t want people seeing my grades.”

“Thanks.” Wesley smiled. Josuke wasn't so bad when you got to know him. “Yeah. Oh I wanted to say, if you do like medicine, there’s nothing wrong with going for a joint track or something. My moms a CMO, so I know plenty of people who’ve done it and could probably tell you how to pull it off without actually dying of fatigue.”

“Oh that's Uh. Great. Probably not got the grades for it but I’ll think about it. See you prodigy boy.” Josuke sent finger phasers Wesley's way and ran off to join Okuyasu and Yukako in class.


	2. Week 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The difficult learning process begins.

Once Wesley actually took the time to look up from his own work, he realized that he shared a lot of classes with this group. Yukako was in a large number of his advanced levels, no surprise. Koichi and Okuyasu invited him to sit with them during Warp Mechanics. He was retaking a couple of electives just for the credits, chief among them being introduction to anatomy - he wanted to make his mother proud too, after all - and was surprised to notice Josuke in the back of the class, earnestly taking notes. 

It felt weird given their conversation, but they ended up sitting right next to each other. It also felt weird that, between the two of them, Wesley wasn’t the one paying attention. It made sense given he’d already taken the class, and had Beverly Crusher for a mom, so he didn't really need to, but it was still off-putting. It didn’t align with his self image, nor the one that his mom and the Captain had always had of him, the kid who was going to go on to do Big Things.

Then again, a lot of things in his life didn’t match that vision anymore. 

Still, he could at least keep his prize for timeliness.

“Sorry, I completely lost track of time.” He panted, half of his notes in his hand instead of in his bag because he’d been in such a rush. Okuyasu was leaning glumly over the table, seemingly abandoned by his friends, but brightened considerably when Wesley approached.

“That’s fine, man, but where’ve you been? I was beginning to think you didn’t mean it!” 

“What? No, I’m not gonna promise you my help and then just not show up. That would be so shitty of me.” Admittedly, when he broke out of his study haze at their designated meeting time, and then realized he still hadn’t rounded up the Padds with Geordi’s “translation” of the Warp Mech textbook, he did momentarily feel like just not going. However, when the ghost of “what would Captain Picard say” started in on a repeat of the ‘first duty’ speech, he decided it might be better to avoid that particular mental spiral, and had so hauled ass to the library. But Okuyasu didn’t have to know that. 

“I know but it was kind of out of the blue for you to offer in the first place.”

“I...yeah.” Wesley kind of felt embarrassed at that, and so quickly turned to his notes. “So what should we start with first? Warp field theory? Antimatter Balance?” Okuyasu blanched at this. 

“Well- I uh. I’m really not sure what I even need to review. Some classes, when I stop understanding things I just. Like, my brain just glazes over and completely stops working.” Well, shit. 

“Well, shit.” Wesley let out before very quickly recovering as Okuyasu’s face could get even more hopeless. “Okay, well, how about we cover today’s assignment, and then we can figure it out from there?”

“Yeah. I can do that.” Okuyasu murmured as he took out his datapadd and scrolled through the chapter until he reached the questions. Wesley read through the problems, underlining some bits that were oddly phrased and might trip someone up if they were struggling. Then he skimmed back through the chapter, remembering what they were covering that day.

“Okay, so.” He scrolled through to what he thought was a gimme question, to build Okuyasu’s confidence. “What do you think this one is?” It was a conceptual question, and multiple choice. 

“Uhmm. Well, it can’t be c. C is ridiculous.” Wesley checked the answers and coughed a bit. 

“What makes you say that, Okuyasu?”

“Making the ship accelerate can’t both increase AND decrease the pressure on the intermix chamber. That’s just stupid.” He was getting agitated now, moving his hands around emphatically.

“Uhh...Okuyasu?” 

“Yeah, what?” Okuyasu’s rant stopped short as he fixed Wesley with a stare. 

“C is the correct answer.”

“Wait what-”

“Keeping at high warp can keep intermix pressure down, so if it goes too high, a warp drive can end up accelerating wildly out of control to compensate, which then puts strain on your plasma pressure, which can sometimes end up just making the problem worse.”

“But that’s stupid, like genuinely! Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be B, then?” Wesley froze, then went back through the question. Okuyasu was kind of right. He took out his PADD and navigated to the assignment from last year. Okay, so he was right, it was both, but. Okuyasu was still...right. In a way. 

“Okay, so I am sure. But you make a good point. You wanna just go through the questions this time and we can take it apart?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Several hours later, Okuyasu leant back in his chair, hands smushing over his eyes. 

“Okay. I think I’ll have to call it a day today.” 

“Okay.” Wesley replied, switching documents on his PADD so he could do his lab write up, maybe plan next session a little better

“I mean, I’m way too hungry to get any more work done.” He shot a meaningful look at Wesley, but no response came through. “Do you wanna stop by the Mess?” Wesley thought back...it was 21:00 hours...he’d last eaten at 11:30...he should probably eat. However. 

“Eh. I’ll just grab something from the replicator. I’ve still got work to do after all.” Hungry as he was, it was incredibly likely that if Okuyasu was getting dinner, he’d wrap Josuke and the bunch into it too, and while Wes wasn’t necessarily against talking to them, he thought he had probably used up his “talking to other people” limit for the day, even just with this.

He tried not to let Okuyasu’s disappointment get to him.

\--

Wes was used to just doing group classwork on his own by now, so when Koichi and Okuyasu made a point in bringing him into the fold for a group problem solving section, he was a little bit taken aback. 

“Okay so I for one have no fucking clue what she’s talking about.”

“I think it’s got to do with the intermix physics we were talking about on Tuesday, but...I’m not sure about number one.” For all the specific struggle Okuyasu was having with warp chem, Koichi wasn’t actually that much better. “What do you think, Wesley?” Wes could go in two directions from this. He knew the answer like the back of his hand, but that wouldn’t help Okuyasu in the long run, if he couldn’t actively explain it all...but would that be seen as patronizing? But would it be more patronizing if he just answered for all of them-

“Hey, dude, you okay? You look like you’re gonna have a stroke.” Okuyasu asked, only a little bit unkindly. 

“Well…” Wesley half-stumbled his way through a scratchy explanation.

“Oh wait it’s like you were talking about during our study session isn’t it? With like intermix pressure and lessening it by speed and instinctive engine design?”

“Sort of, yeah.” Wesley felt a sudden and familiar burst of pride that at least something of that meeting had gotten through to Okuyasu, even if it had sort of not completely answered the Professor’s actual question. He put down a slightly more concise version of what he had said to the others in his answer field and turned to show it to the other two, letting them nod in approval before signing it off and submitting it. The pride stuck around, warm in his chest, even as Okuyasu stumbled his way through explaining it when called on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? I'm not projecting, you're projecting! Also I'm a College Student studying Art History who got, if I'm remembering correctly, a C- in physics and Boy Howdy Does It Show. Bear with me, friends.


	3. Week 2: A House Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okuyasu learns about Applied Mathematics and talks to his dad. Wesley goes to the world's weirdest house party. I make a song reference.

The next week, Wesley made a point to be a whole twenty minutes early for his tutoring appointment with Okuyasu. Even still, he ended up in a study haze for the first fifteen, until Okuyasu plonked down into the seat next to him, hands gripping onto a replicated chip bowl.

“Hey!” He smiled brightly. “Brought extra food this time so we can study longer. Oh! And!” He pulled out a thermos emblazoned with the academy logo. “I don’t really like the taste of coffee, but it should keep us going!”

“I don’t know if that’s _quite_ as effective as you think it is, Okuyasu.” Wesley remembered the time Josh had drank an entire thermos of Raktajino to get through one of their Statistical Mechanics exams. That was not a good night.

“ _Whatever._ It’s part of my studying process, alright?” Wesley decided not to remind him that his _process_ was failing the class.

“How’d you get along with the homework? I mean, I saw you turn it in and all, but I wanted to check in.” Okuyasu had sent him a relay at about 2 in the morning the previous night begging for help with conceptual formulas.

“Uh. Fine. Once you pointed out what equation I was supposed to use for intermix ratios, it was pretty easy to figure out.”

“Well that’s a relief.” Wesley laughed to himself a bit. 

“But did you _see the professor’s face when I turned it in?_ She was, like, _shocked.”_ Okuyasu’s voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. 

“I don’t know if _that’s_ as much of a relief,” Wesley held back a chuckle as Okuyasu’s expression dropped. “But I’m glad you feel vindicated. Wanna try out this week’s equations, then?” Okuyasu’s grin returned with newfound pride that found a mirrored home in Wesley’s chest, and they set onto the next set of problems together. 

This lasted for another half an hour of talkback and gentle corrections on the first five problems of thirty, before Okuyasu leant back in his chair and covered his eyes.

“This is _too hard._ ” He groaned towards the ceiling. 

“You’re doing _fine._ Let’s keep going.” Wesley consoled, lying just a tiny bit.

“Formula IMA, IMB, AND IMC- IT’S TOO MUCH! How the _fuck_ do you keep all these _stupid_ formulas straight?” He rocked forward again and gestured uselessly at the problem set in front of him “I feel like you’d need to be a _supercomputer_ or something but you’re just a normal guy and you seem to do it, how?” Given one of his main guides to engineering _was_ a supercomputer, Wesley struggled to answer this question.

“I mean-” Wesley stopped himself. “I kinda _don’t._ ”

“What do you mean?” Okuyasu eyed him suspiciously. 

“Well- Okay this is gonna sound weird. But I _sorta_ have some practical experience in engineering a starship. So, when I’m faced by these kinds of questions I don’t really look at them like _questions_. I kinda map the formulas I need onto where their control matrices would be in the actual computer, and the sequence I need to change them in to get the engine to do what I want. There are two different value entry fields for the different parts of the intermix chamber, and those use IMA and IMB, but I do those in my head as I’m entering them. If things are going _bad,_ I go into a Jeffries tube and use a hyperspanner to adjust things until I reach a value I’ve determined with IMC. You can also use your IMB to solve for IMA, and vice versa? But it’s all kind of instinctive.” Wesley cut himself off and opened his eyes, which he hadn’t realized he’d closed, to see Okuyasu staring at him in awe.

“Yo. Dude. You’re like. Legit really smart?”

“Thank you?” Okuyasu stared at him for another few seconds, but shook himself out of it.

“Uhm. Might be hard if it’s as instinctual as you say but could you. Um. Explain how you do that mapping method?”

“Oh. Sure, yeah. Or, at least. I can try.” Wesley reached into his bag and pulled out the Drawing Padd that Data had given him a couple of birthdays ago. He mostly carried it out of sentimentality, but sometimes it came in handy. He used the straight line feature to make a humble approximation of both the main engineering array as well as the Jeffries tube panel, writing the appropriate formula on each access node, with a little explanation next to each of them, turning it back to Okuyasu when he was done. The other boy’s eyes scanned over the diagram, seeming to understand. He actually caught on more quickly than Wes had expected, which implied he had _some_ analogous experience. 

“So then with this set, since you’re trying to equalize the _pressure-_ ”

“You need to solve using IMB?”

“Yep, but _first”_

“You use _IMA_ to find _this_ value. Okay. I got it!” Sure enough, as Okuyasu input the value, the UI turned green to show he was correct. Okuyasu grinned at him, and that familiar warm burst of pride flowered up in Wesley’s chest. 

Despite their increase in speed, it was still dark out by the time they finished their work for the day. 

“Okay, so, I know you don’t wanna eat dinner with us, and I’m not gonna force you to.” Wesley let out a relieved exhale as Okuyasu packed his bag. “ _But,_ given you did just change, like, my _entire_ understanding of how math works, I _am_ gonna make you come with me to a party this weekend. To repay you.”

“Oh, it’s fine, you _really_ don’t have to, I’m not really a _party_ kind of guy…” Even _before_ he lost his meager popularity, he wasn’t a party type. 

“Oh I know, but this will be in our hometown, so it’ll be fun _and_ you can learn! Like a nerd! You ever been to Japan?”

“I think once when I was, like, _5,_ but I guess that doesn’t count, does it?”

“Nah, not really. Anyway, I guarantee this will be the most fun you’ve had in like, ever.”

“Hey! I resent that, I have fun.”

“ _When,_ though, Wesley?” He didn’t have a response to that. “I’m gonna add your Comm-ID to a group chat, so we can all head over together on Saturday. You do have transport credits left, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Figured. See ya Thursday!”

And with that, without even getting much of a choice in the matter, he was invited to a party.

\--

**_23:20_ **

**WCrusher** _has been added to the Student Group Chat: “_ **Catboys have no rights** _”:_

 **JosuBosu:** Ayyyy it’s the Interloper!

 **HiroHero:** Hi Wesley!

 **YukaNO:** Hello, Wesley.

 **OkuYASu:** Operation Make Our Upperclassman Friend Have Actual Fun For Once is a go!

 **YukaNO:** That Operation name sounds unwieldy.

 **WCrusher** : Also, I resent that. I have fun. 

**OkuYASu** : Yukako?

 **YukaNO** : Evidence substantiating claim insufficient.

 **WCrusher** : Hey!

 **OkuYASu** : Can’t argue with facts, Wes. 

**WCrusher** : Hush.

 **WCrusher** : Anyway, where in Japan is this party? Okuyasu said it was your guys’ hometown but not much more than that. 

**JosuBosu** : Wait you invited him Okuyasu? Laaaame.

 **HiroHero** : Hey! Don’t be mean about it!

 **OkuYASu** : You got to invite that weird Andorian kid. I get to invite Wesley. 

**WCrusher** : Should I feel insulted here?

 **JosuBosu** : Only a little. Anyway, we’re all from this town called Morioh. It’s tiny as fuck so you’ve defo never heard of it. 

**WCrusher** : Wow, I had no idea all of you were from the same town! That feels so unlikely!

 **YukaNO** : And Yet…

 **JosuBosu** : Yukako’s from a Vulcan commune not far from there, so we all ended up at the same school right around the time we were all applying for the academy.

 **OkuYASu** : It’s pretty much the only reason she gave us the time of day.

 **JosuBosu** : Well that and she’s like, creepy obsessed with Koichi. 

**YukaNO** : If you continue saying that, I may become “creepy obsessed” with your death _,_ Josuke Higashikata.

 **JosuBosu** : That sounded pretty angry for a Vulcan. 

**YukaNO** : You are correct. You and Okuyasu must be bad influences on me.

 **OkuYASu** : Hey! What about Wes and Koichi?

 **YukaNO** : They are different. Koichi inspires a far more nuanced array of emotional explanation. Wesley appears to be fairly reserved in his own right, and has not been around enough to actually contaminate my thought processes. 

**WCrusher** : Again, I can’t tell if I’m being insulted or not.

 **JosuBosu** : Trust me, we don’t know either.

 **HiroHero** : Oh, Wesley! I’ve been meaning to ask, where are you from?

 **JosuBosu** : Oh yeah I’ve been wondering too cause like. You’re pretty generic so it’s hard to tell.

 **WCrusher:** Okay well I know THAT was an insult.

 **WCrusher** : I was actually born here in San Fran but my mom’s a medical officer so we kinda traveled all over.

 **OkuYASu** : Oh shit you’re a starbrat!

 **WCrusher** : Yes? How did you think I had practical experience with a warp drive?

 **OkuYASu** : I dunno I just figured you got some kind of grant for being a genius or something.

 **OkuYASu** : This is cool though, you’re like me!

 **WCrusher** : Oh I didn’t realize. Where’d your parents serve?

 **OkuYASu** : Oh. My dad wasn’t in Starfleet. He was just a freighter captain.

 **WCrusher** : Oh cool! That sounds interesting. 

**JosuBosu** : Oh y’know what else is interesting? I think I figured out a way to get booze-

The conversation veered off from there, with Koichi seemingly begging Josuke not to break into someone’s liquor cabinet. It devolved into a series of inside jokes about said cabinet owner that left Wesley in a confused tizzy. Okuyasu wasn’t replying as much himself, which was also confusing. Wesley messaged him privately.

 **WCrusher** : Hey! You tired? We worked for a while today, you should go to bed.

 **ONijimura** : Oh! Yeah I must've nodded off. 

**ONijimura** : You can turn off the beeper for that chat till Saturday, by the way. They’re not gonna stop any time soon. 

**WCrusher** : Thanks for the heads up. -_- 

Wesley did as he was told before wheeling over to his bed to plop down for the night. One last message pinged up on his screen from JHigashika

 **JHigashika:** Also change your fucking nickname in chat.

 **JHigashika:** WCrusher is boring as FUCK _._

Yeah, he kinda was. 

__

The last party Wesley had been to had been last year’s end of season celebration for Nova Squadron. It hadn’t so much been a _party_ as an all out _cacophony_ across campus. He and Josh had been bandied around like pinballs in all the adulation. People _loved_ the team. People loved _him._

Nick was off at some bar getting drunk under the table by his peers, but he’d advised them all to stick together to avoid getting in _too_ much trouble after this momentous victory. The girls had some big sub-event they were going to together, so Josh and Wesley ended up hanging out for most of the night, which Wesley was fine with. More than fine, if he’d been honest. 

Even if Nick was lying during the tribunal, there were things he got right. Josh _had_ been nervous all season. When they landed after the finals, he’d immediately and _tearfully_ apologised to the whole team, thinking his fumble in the last arc of their Yeager Loop, pushing his nose down by just a degree, had squashed their chances. The judges hadn’t thought anything of it though, and they’d won. 

So they’d been full of adrenaline, and, maybe a little stupidity, and decided to try a little alcohol themselves. Wesley still recoiled at the taste, to his embarrassment, but Josh managed to get most of it down, laughing a bit as he noticed Wesley’s screwed up expression.

“Should we order you something else _,_ then? Maybe juice is more your speed, kiddo.” Josh had grinned, stupidly, and lazily ruffled Wesley’s hair. 

“Shut up.” 

“Make me.” Wesley was not _great_ at picking up social cues, but he had seen how Josh’s eyes were lidded, how his smile shifted into a smirk as he drew closer.

That had been their first kiss. It had not been their last, just as the Ski Trip wasn’t the _last_ time Josh had left his sweater in Wesley’s room.

The sweater that Wesley was now wearing as he mussed up his hair for the twelfth time to get to the appropriate level of artful messiness, promising himself this wouldn’t be _that_ bad, checking his messages for the fifteenth time. _Finally_ his screen pinged, and he could get this social horror show over with.

 **JosuBosu** : Okay, losers. Transport Time. 

**HiroHero:** Hey, Josuke, how many people did you tell about this?

 **JosuBosu** : I dunno, like 6 between me and Okuyasu? Y?

 **HiroHero:** There’s. More than that here.

 **JosuBosu** : FUCK 

**JosuBosu** : FUCKING

 **JosuBosu** : HAZAMADA

 **JosuBosu** : BLABBERMOUTH ASS BITCH

 **OkuYASu** : I mean it could have also been Miki

 **JosuBosu** : NO that kid like ONLY talks to us. It HAS to be Hazamada. I’m gonna KILL HIM _._

 **JosuBosu** : Wesley coming is weird enough. 

**WCrusher** : You DO realize I’m still in the chat right? I can read your messages. 

**JosuBosu** : And yet you haven’t picked a new screen name like I told you. 

**WCrusher** : Coming up with a screen name is HARD

 **OkuYASu** : Can’t be harder than Warp Mech. 

**JosuBosu** : Anyway, tell whatever creepy nerds Hazamada invited that it's a direct invite only type of deal. 

**JosuBosu** : And THEN tell Hazamada he’s uninvited. That prick. 

**HiroHero** : Why do I have to do the dirty work? Hazamada’s not gonna listen to me

 **JosuBosu** : Then get Yukako to Vulcan neck pinch the people we didn’t invite or something.

 **YukaNO** : It is far more complicated than that.

 **YukaNO** : Also I would rather not have to touch Hazamada with a ten foot pole. 

**YukaNO** : But I will use my intimidating visage to terrify him. 

**JosuBosu:** THANK YOU. Someone understands. 

Without whoever this Hazamada was, their party was rather small, with a few students Wesley recognized, but had never spoken to. The plan was basically to transport up to Sendai, and then take the train out to Morioh. Some actually backed out when they realized they didn’t have the transporter credits. This really left them with the core group of Josuke, Yukako, Okuyasu, Koichi, Wesley, and an uncharacteristically friendly Andorian named Mikitaka.

The ride on the train was a raucous one, all of them joking around and pushing each other in their seats. The car was, thankfully, fairly empty. 

“This doesn’t really seem to be enough people to make a party.” Wesley moved over to question Okuyasu.

“Oh there’ll be a few more when we get there. This is actually kind of a weird friend-group. You’ll see.”

“Why does that _not_ feel comforting?” 

“I dunno. I think that was a _great_ comfort.” Okuyasu laughed, and Wesley found himself laughing too. “Anyway, it’ll probably be like…” he counted on his fingers, “Ten of us? Plus whichever girls find out Josuke’s back in town.”

“Again, not that big of a party.”

“Exactly, starting you out slow.”

Wesley did _not_ want to know Okuyasu’s definition of what _fast_ would be as he found himself approaching a house that felt kind of...garishly lavish for any of their tastes, even Josuke’s. The whole multi-level monstrosity of balconies was painted in light purple, with striking green and pink rooftops. They all seemed to completely ignore it, though, as Josuke pounded on the door with a palpable absence of respect. 

“Rohan! We’re here!” He shouted, almost bored.

The aforementioned Rohan opened the door with a sort of mute annoyance, though he brightened when he saw Koichi. It took Wesley a couple of moments to realize that the man robotically denying Josuke information as to the location of his liquor cabinet was Rohan Kishibe, the famous holonovel author. He dressed...differently to what Wesley would expect given the tone of his work, in a green crop top and short white jacket, and weirdly slicked hair accented by a spiky headband. It wasn’t that it was too outlandish, but its eccentricities veered in an unexpected direction.

Wesley’s musings were interrupted, however, when Rohan’s gaze fell on him, and his face widened into a cordial smile. 

“Oh, I see you all _have_ made a friend at the academy. What’s your name?” 

“Wesley Crusher.”

“Good to meet you Wesley Crusher. I’m Rohan Kishibe.” Something in Wesley’s brain fluttered for a moment as he reached out to shake Rohan’s hand, making him pause awkwardly. 

“Nice to ah, nice to meet you too, Mr. Kishibe.”

“Oh, just call me Rohan, the rest of them do. But would you like an autograph? I have some spare drafting paper in my room-”

“I think he’ll be fine, actually, Rohan.” Okuyasu moved in front of him, almost protectively, and suddenly Wesley noticed that the entire atmosphere of the room had changed. Everyone save himself and Mikitaka were eyeing Rohan with cold reproach. 

“Oh, yes, maybe later.” Rohan smiled, somewhat sheepishly, and allowed himself to be dragged off by Koichi, who began scolding him quietly. 

“Sorry about that.” Okuyasu led Wesley in the other direction, sitting him down on the couch, “He’s kinda creepy, but he lets us use his house for stuff. An’ sometimes he’s useful.”

“What was everyone’s deal back there? All he did was shake my hand.” For a moment, Okuyasu stared at him like he’d grown a second head, before a realization seemed to dawn on him.

“Oh he’s just. Always been kinda off when he greets people, and we never know exactly what his motives are, so we try to be careful with him around new people.” The explanation sounded hollow, “Sorry, I should’ve warned you. We have a bunch of weird adult friends.”

Wesley was about to tell him it was fine, that he had his fair share of them himself, when in through the door burst a man even _more_ strangely dressed than Rohan, joined by a gaggle of three girls. He introduced himself as Yuya, and quickly veered off in search of both Rohan and Booze. Yuya was followed by an Italian chef who introduced himself as Trussardi and pulled out a vast array of goodies, seemingly in single person serving sizes. He’d eyed Wesley up and down, and immediately commandeered the kitchen and Wesley hadn’t seen him since. At one point, though he’d admit he was mostly focusing on his conversation with Okuyasu, Wesley swore he saw a _child_ enter the party, holding an odd little plant, before going off to find someone deeper inside the house.

As time went on, the odd entrances became less frequent, but were always met with a sort of sarcastic mirth. 

Until. 

The party didn’t _entirely_ quiet down when the man with the half-lizard face walked in. Some of them even greeted him warmly. This also wasn’t half-lizard in the Cardassian sense, with ridges everywhere. Rather, this man was stout, with a plaster of almost Gorn-like green scales covering various parts of his face, making the still remaining flesh puff up and spill over into misshapen lumps, His hands seemed to have congealed into three-pronged toes. The real source of the quiet, Wesley realised, was Okuyasu, who had stilled as this slightly grotesque figure approached him. 

“Hey, Okuyasu.” His voice was hoarse, like his throat was filled with spikes. “Why don’t we talk for a bit?”

“Yeah.” Okuyasu almost murmured. “Sure thing, Dad.”

\--

“He’s been out there for a while, hasn’t he?” Wesley tried not to sound overly concerned as he sat trying to figure out some ancient earth board game Josuke had dug out of the back of Rohan’s closet. 

“Oh, Okuyasu? Yeah, he and his dad have been like this since he got into the academy, doing these _long_ check ups.” Josuke boredly placed another piece down. “It’s your turn Mikitaka.”

“Do you think he’s...okay?” Wesley watched as Mikitaka placed another piece in what he could only imagine was an incredibly illegal move.

“Uh. Probably. You never know. Sometimes he comes back all cheery and hopeful, and sometimes it’s just this thousand yard stare.” Josuke imitated a ghastly expression, which only served to further Wesley’s visible discomfort.

“Okuyasu will be _fine,_ Wesley.” Koichi reassured. “He just has a...complicated relationship with his dad.”

“Complicated...how?”

“That is _not_ our job to tell you,” Josuke took his turn, voice edged with just the smallest bit of frustration. “I mean if you _want_ to know it should be with _him_ knowing, yeah?”

“Yeah, you’re uhm. You’re right.” Wesley felt a bit shamefaced. It’s not like he’d been completely open to the group either, and after all, he was kind of an interloper, as Josuke had said. Technically, should he even be here? He stood up, nudging Yukako gently with his elbow. 

“You can swap in. I’m, uh, going to find a bathroom.” Wesley then walked out the front door, which, as we all know, is the _opposite_ of what one tends to do when looking for a bathroom. 

Nonetheless, he was not stopped as he exited the house, wandering somewhat aimlessly around Morioh, before stopping at a replimat seemingly built out of the exoskeleton of an ancient Conbini. Outside, sitting hunched on the pavement, was Okuyasu. His breath seemed a bit ragged, and Wesley realized that Josuke had actually done a fairly decent impression of the expression on his face. 

“Hey.” Wesley greeted as gently as he could, approaching Okuyasu like a wounded animal. “You good?”

  
“Wha?” Okuyasu jumped a bit, which was weird for a man of his bulk, “Oh uh. Yeah I’m fine. Completely fine.” He said in the voice of someone who was Not Fine. 

“Talk with your Dad go okay?” Wesley sat down next to him, trying to channel _any_ of what Counselor Troi had imparted on him.

“Of course it went okay. Why wouldn’t it go okay?” He asked, mostly to himself, “He’s my Dad.”

“I mean, Dad stuff can be... complicated right?”

“Yeah…” Okuyasu drifted off in thought. “Yeah it is. But what do you know about it?”

“Oh Um. Well. I guess not much cause um. Well my dad’s kind of. Y’know. Dead.”

“Oh shit dude, I’m sorry.”

“No, no that’s. I’m fine, it happened a long time ago, but a lot of times I end up. I guess. Looking for him? And, when it’s not the same it gets-”

“Frustrating.” Okuyasu finished his sentence for him, and a sort of quiet settled over the two for a while. 

“Hey do you wanna maybe. Go back to campus? Clear your head a bit?”

“I mean I think we were all planning on sleeping at home tonight-”

“And you’re comfortable with that?”

“Well-” Okuyasu faltered. “I mean, I kinda miscalculated my, uh, transporter credits, so I was planning to bum off of Koichi-”

“I have _plenty_ saved up.”

“Of course you do.” Okuyasu smiled and rolled his eyes, before his nerves suddenly returned. “But if I just leave, they’ll get all _worried_ about me, I mean that’s so out of character, y’know? I’m fine, I don’t wanna make them get up in arms over nothing.”

“Well, you can blame it on me. Message the group chat and say I got, I dunno, a headache and you’re helping me back to campus, and you don’t really think it’s worth it to come back tonight.”

“And you think they’d buy that?”

“Josuke would.” Okuyasu let out a sharp laugh at that, smiling up at where Wesley now stood. “Come on, we probably still have time to catch the last train home.”

Sure enough they did, and a silence drifted back over them as they sat in the otherwise empty car, watching the neon lights all the way to S City. 

“Y’know, it’s alright if it _wasn’t_ okay between you and your Dad.” Wesley almost whispers, voice feeling too loud in the empty train car. 

“Wha. Oh, no, the conversation went really well actually. Uhm. He said he was proud of me and everything. Which. I guess I owe in part to you, right?” Okuyasu let out a shaky laugh.

“That’s good.”

“It was almost _too_ positive. I mean we don’t fight much anyway, not anymore, but. He didn’t even _acknowledge_ that stuff. It’s- It’s like all of it, the anger, the hurt, _Keicho_ didn’t even exist.” Wesley didn’t question this last part, filing it away for later. “So it kinda still _sucks_ you know?”

“Yeah.” He probably didn’t. He probably never could, but it also made sense to him. Holding a weight around your neck that no one acknowledges even if they were there when it was put on you. 

“Aghk.” Okuyasu cut himself off, laughing ruefully as he wiped his eyes. “Crying in front of your tutor, definitely _not_ cool Okuyasu. Not very cash money of me.”

“I’d like to think I’m at least _a little_ more than just your tutor by now.” Wesley half-prodded, half-pleaded. 

“You are. At least, _now_ you are, for sure.” Okuyasu let out another laugh. “Hey Wes?” He asked, after another beat of silence.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“Any time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I expose myself as a humanities student. And for liking chat fic. Also, I am so sorry to people who like Rohan but we all know he'd do this. Also hey remember when I said that Okuyasu deserves to be upset about his childhood? Yeah.


	4. Week 3: The Admiral and the Lieutenant Commander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley learns about Josuke's family and, in so doing, Josuke.

Neither Okuyasu nor Wesley mentioned their early departure from the party, but Josuke couldn’t seem to  _ stop  _ mentioning it. He weaseled it into conversations, prodding constantly, occasionally stopping to make fun of Wesley for being such a shut-in or Okuyasu for being such a mother hen to someone who was supposed to be tutoring him. Wesley knew the guy had probably just been looking forward to time with his friend, and the lie left very little in the way of contextualizing the  _ real _ reason they’d left so early. He tried not to let it bug him.

He did not succeed.

“Josuke. We are trying to focus. If you. Could. Please.” He begged, “Please leave us alone.” Okuyasu seemed to be suppressing a chuckle, both at Josuke’s hijinks, and at Wesley’s impotent rage.

“Don’t you start.” Wesley pointed an accusatory finger, “Or I’ll lock you up in a tiny room with only a problem set for company.”

“Hey.” Okuyasu only mostly feigned offense, “You wouldn’t really do that to your  _ star pupil,  _ would you Wes?” His puppy eyes were charming, in that ridiculous way, but that only irked Wesley  _ more.  _

“You’re my  _ only  _ pupil. And far from stellar, at the moment.”

“Is that any way to encourage my learning process?”

“I’ll encourage your decomposition process if you-” Wesley was stopped short by the sound of a throat clearing behind him, looking up to see two intimidatingly large and incomprehensibly awkward men. The elder of the two was a familiar face, if only via reputation and the sight of his face taped to a dartboard in the back of Picard’s quarters. He wore the admiral’s uniform, though his old frame no longer filled it as it had in the time of the Stardust Crusaders Incident. The younger of the two wore an augmented version of the science blues, jacket unzipped and head decorated with a hat that seemed to merge with his hair. 

“Oh. Can um. Can we help you?” Wesley had a horrible feeling he’d been too loud again, too raucous, too caught up in the easy flow between Okuyasu and Josuke. However, he then realized the attention from higher ups wasn’t actually on him for once. It was on Josuke.

“Hey, Old Man.” He greeted with a casual disrespect, getting up and shaking the proffered hand with a slight tightness.

“Josuke.” The elder man answered affably. 

“Jotaro.” Josuke nodded more comfortably at the science officer.

“Josuke.” The tone was terse, but in a soft way.

“I’m going to go now. See you later, Okuyasu?”

“‘Course.” Okuyasu replied evenly. 

“Uhm.” Suddenly, all three sets of eyes came to rest on Wesley as he spoke up, suddenly recognizing the name  _ Jotaro.  _ “You wouldn’t happen to be Lt. Commander Jotaro Kujo, would you?”

“What? Oh. Yeah, I am, actually.” Jotaro’s voice sounded low, the kind that only occurs when you don’t speak that often. “Why?”

“I’m Wesley Crusher. My mom showed me your doctoral thesis a few years ago. It was  _ really interesting.”  _ More interesting had been the then doctoral candidate deciding to write his thesis on a single starfish seen on a beach in Japan, which the board had taken as an excellent recursive strategy discussing how much can be learned from just one organism, and which Beverly had taken as a joke. 

“Oh, you mean Beverly?”

“Yeah. That’s her.” That oddness when someone casually uses your mom’s first name bubbled somewhere in the back of Wesley’s brain, but he’d managed to endure far more severe awkwardness in interactions with Picard for this long. 

“Yeah her feedback was really helpful. Really straightforward.” He nodded solemnly, as though imparting wisdom. “Tell her I said hi, alright?” 

“She’ll be ecstatic to hear from you. She’s always wondering when she can find an excuse to bring you aboard the Enterprise to consult on an away mission.” Wesley heard Jotaro mutter something that sounded like “good grief” under his breath. 

“Oh, your mom’s on the Enterprise, huh?” Joestar cut in, grinning. “How’s Picard these days?” 

“Oh he’s…” Wesley paused. Picard had made it  _ painfully clear  _ to the entire crew that he despised Admiral Joseph Joestar and everything he stood for, and that his name being uttered on the bridge was, in the good captain’s eye, grounds for a court martial. “He’s doing fine.” 

“Great! I may just have to go along with Jotaro for a mission, it’s been so long since I was out in the field.”

“I’m…” Choose your words carefully, Wesley “I’m sure he’d love that, sir.”

“We should let you two get back to your studies.” Jotaro muttered, “Come on, Admiral.”

“Ah, yes, we do have that meeting don’t we. Well, tell Jean-Luc that I said hi!” Joestar smiled genially as he waved goodbye. 

“Will do, Admiral!” Wesley lied proficiently, waiting until they were out of sight before letting out a sigh of relief. A sole benefit of his odd upbringing was that his treatment as a mini adult had made him especially talented at doing the stilted dance of formality required for these situations. He had further honed these skills with help from Data and Picard, though not entirely intentionally on their part. “Well, that was nerve wracking. Wanna do the next set of equations?”

“Didn’t realize you knew Jotaro too, Wes. Not to mention Josuke’s old man.” Okuyasu spoke after a moment of silence, and Wesley prepared to stumble through his explanation of his time on the Enterprise and other ships, desperately searching for a way to make it to the other side as the same boring nerd he’d presented himself as and  _ kind of  _ was so they could get back to their studies.

Then he reheard what Okuyasu had said. 

“Wait. Josuke’s the Admiral’s  _ SON?!?”  _ Okuyasu’s face fell a bit slack, clearly having just realized he’d revealed secret information.

“Oh. Yeah. He doesn’t really like to talk about it, though.”

“...Josuke or the Admiral?”

“Well. Both, actually, but…”

“But you meant Josuke.”

“Yeah.”

“Doesn’t the admiral have another family, though? I mean Kujo’s his grandson, right?”

“Yeah that’s kind of why we don’t talk about it, Wesley.” Okuyasu gave him a sidelong glance, and Wesley shrank a bit in embarrassment, “But yeah Josuke found out the Admiral was his dad about around last year’s graduation.” The mention of the moment itself had Wesley shrinking with a completely different emotion, “An’ I think in all the commotion, Josuke’s just. Not had the time to fully get okay with it.”

“I can imagine it.” It would certainly explain his discomfort just now. “What commotion would that be?”

“Oh! I can’t believe I’ve never told you about this before.” Okuyasu had now completely pushed his homework to the side. “Well, last year we had this weird set of weeks where. Well...how do I explain this…” He paused to consider for a moment. “All these weird things started happening back home. See, there was this weird fungus that my uh…” Okuyasu seized up. “Well,  _ someone  _ found on this one planet a few extra years back, and brought it back in a hypospray. And it wound up in Morioh.

“An’ it started infecting people, but it would give them these  _ abilities… _ ” He paused at Wesley’s incredulous look “It’s a  _ really long _ story, and I don’t know if that part will ever come up again. Anyway, there was a serial killer in Morioh who was using that ability to get away with some pretty heinous stuff. And then, we met  _ another  _ serial killer who was doing even  _ more  _ heinous stuff, like that one had a hand fetish and everything. It was majorly fucking gross. Basically the lead up to finals was  _ crazy  _ for us. I mean, I almost died! Anyway, Josuke found out about his dad at the beginning of this, so it’s been kind of tough to figure out where he stood with him.”

“Huh. Yeah, I could understand that.” Wesley said, not understanding even a little bit. Well, he understood one thing.

He and Josuke had a lot more in common than he’d previously thought. 

\--

“Hey Mom!” Wesley called out over subspace. “How’s everyone on Enterprise doing?” 

“Oh we’re all fine, Wes!” His mother replied, a sweet and familiar smile playing on her lips, “Just had an incident with the transporter that turned some officers into  _ children  _ if you’d believe it.”

“ _ What?  _ Which ones?”

“Doctor-Patient confidentiality-”

“Means nothing when the rest of the crew  _ must  _ have known about it, come on Mom.” He pleaded, “You’re making me feel like I’m missing out on so much while I’m stuck here.”

“Fine, but don’t go trying to guilt trip me. I taught you that method, it won’t work on me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He answered with a knowing grin.

“Well, it was Keiko, Ro - you remember me mentioning Ensign Ro, Guinan, and Picard.” Each name hit like a ton of bricks. Keiko being transformed, for one, must have been so awkward for her and the Chief. From what he’d heard of the Ensign, she probably found it a horrible indignity. He couldn’t even imagine Guinan  _ being  _ a child, much more inclined to think of her as permanently confined to the wisdom of however old she was. Picard, meanwhile… 

“What caused it?” Curiosity stamped out disbelief. 

“A transporter malfunction. We were able to rematerialise them in adult bodies, but it was an odd few days.”

“I can imagine.”

“What about you, Wesley?” came the question he never wanted to answer, “How’s tutoring going?”

“Good, actually!” It wasn’t a lie, but it still felt odd coming out of his throat, “I think he’s actually getting warp mechanics down. Oh, and tell Data thanks again for those extra schematics.”

“Are you getting along with him- what was his name again?”

“Okuyasu. Yeah, he has a circle of friends I’ve sorta...inserted myself into? I guess? He invited me to his hometown in Japan last week, which was fun. I don’t think I’d been there since-.”

“Since your Dad took you on that vacation when you were little.”

“Yeah.” The tone got still for a moment, as it always did. Not an overly sad stillness, just an acknowledgement. 

“Well how was it, where did you go?”

“This little town called Morioh. It was fun. They’re actually friends with the author of this one holonovel series I really like-” Wesley stopped himself, not wanting to spend yet  _ another  _ call trying to explain the intricacies of a series his mom would listen to patiently, but ultimately never really  _ understand.  _ “Anyway, turns out they’re  _ also  _ friends - or I think one is  _ related  _ to Lieutenant Commander Kujo. He says hi, by the way.”

“Oh wow! Tell him I said hi back, will you? And did you tell him I want to see him on Enterprise one of these days?”

“Yes and, well, Mom, I don’t exactly think he’s gonna be on campus that often. I can’t exactly replace subspace, y’know.” His mom rolled her eyes.

“I know that, but I’ve told you how he is. He takes years to answer relays, and his answers are always so stilted.”

“I mean  _ he’s  _ a pretty stilted guy.”

“Be polite.”

“Oh! But that’s not all.  _ Speaking  _ of Picard when he was young.” He stopped short when he realized what he was about to ask. “Uhm. Wait mom are we on a secure channel?” 

“...Yes.” Her voice suddenly filled with motherly concern. “Why?”

“Can you explain Picard’s vendetta against Admiral Joestar?”

\--

“Y’know my dad once threw a man off this bridge.” Josuke said it sullenly, without even looking up to see Wesley approach him. Ironically, the Golden Gate bridge was actually  _ more  _ dangerous since the improvements of the past few centuries, as long as you were a pedestrian. The tubeway was great as a piece of public transport, but the glass passage also squished anyone fool enough to still enjoy walking across up against the railing and the sixty seven meter drop. 

“Should I feel threatened?” Wesley asked as he leant over the railing a little ways away. 

“Not unless you think I’m like him. He was around my age when he did it.”

“Oh right, during the Pillar Men Incident, yeah?”

“I don’t know what it’s fucking called. I’m not a nerd.” Josuke scoffed. “I just know it cause he won’t shut up about it.”

“Is that why you’re still trying to be in Command, rather than medical?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” He turned in the fading light, puzzlement on his features shadowed by his stupid hairstyle.

“Because your dad is an Admiral. Is that why you’re so determined?”

“What? No. I wanna be in command cause it’s cooler.” Josuke looked genuinely confused. 

“Are you sure?”

“Uh... _ yeah.  _ See, I’m more likely to go on the cooler missions and protect people than if I’m stuck in sickbay the whole time. Being able to use medical supplies will be a  _ bonus  _ but not really  _ what I’m there for,  _ y’know?”

“Oh.” 

“Why’d you think I wanna be like my dad?”

“Well, it’s not really  _ that,  _ I dunno. It’s. He has a legacy, right? So even if you  _ do  _ kinda feel weird about him, it would make sense for you to feel drawn to that to- I don’t know. Prove you can do better?” Wesley couldn’t help the blush rising to his face. He felt  _ exposed.  _ He’d revealed too much of himself to a guy who, when it came down to it,  _ really  _ didn’t like him. He didn’t even know  _ why  _ he’d done it.

“Is that why  _ you’re  _ in the command track instead of engineering, like you so clearly should be?”

“What?”

“I’m not dumb. I’ve seen how good you are at piloting in sims  _ and  _ at the calculations you do with Okuyasu. You’re great at ship’s operations, but you’re slotted in to go into the command track when you graduate?”

“Well. Um. Yeah, actually. He died when I was little, before he got the chance to be a captain, so I kinda feel like…”

“That’s stupid.” Josuke said flatly. 

“So’s doing it just because you want ‘cool missions’ or whatever.” Wesley was starting to get angry. “You could do that from security or science, too! In fact you could do it  _ better.  _ All you’re doing is ensuring you stay on the bridge while other people have to go down and  _ die  _ for you!” He was yelling at more than Josuke, now, but he didn’t care.

“And what do you know about it, Crusher?” Josuke had turned more fully towards him. 

“A whole  _ fucking  _ lot more than  _ you _ , I’d bet! I’ve actually been in the field! I’ve had to  _ make  _ those decisions. You don’t even fucking  _ know  _ me!” He wasn’t a violent person by any means, but that didn’t seem to matter much as he grabbed a mostly unaffected Josuke by the shirt. 

“No. I don’t. But I know  _ of  _ you.” He grinned impishly, and Wesley stopped short. “You’re doing what you’re  _ told,  _ and what’s being  _ asked  _ of you, and you still aren’t there yet _.  _ I’d say you’re the one with issues. Worse off, cause you’re pretending shit didn’t even  _ happen.”  _

“You...know then.” 

“It’s pretty heavy stuff.”

“Please...don’t tell Okuyasu or the others I...I don’t want them to look at me differently.”

“Course not. Not my business, anyway.” Josuke pulled away and brushed off his shirt. “Much as that incident seems to imply it, You’re not  _ actually _ a horrible person. A little whiny, but. Not  _ horrible.” _

“Oh, thanks.” Wesley answered sarcastically. 

“No problem.”

“One thing though.”

“What?”

“You’re lying. About your motives for command, that is. It may not be about your dad, but it’s about somebody.” Josuke stopped short at this, halfway through fixing his collar.

“How do you figure that?”

“You’re also not a horrible person. You care too much about people to be that blasé about stuff. And don’t try and say you don’t because it won’t work on me. I’ve  _ met  _ you.”

“Fine, you caught me. It’s about my grandpa, alright?” Josuke smiled ruefully. “I don’t need to tell you the whole sour story though, do I?”

“Not if you don’t want to. Just know I know you’re...not horrible.” Wesley smiled back, and they stood silently on the bridge for a bit.

“Wow. Thanks.”

\--

_ 23:32 _

**WCrusher** _ changed their nickname to  _ **Crushin’It**

**Crushin’It:** How’s this

**JosuBosu** : LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME

**JosuBosu** : But better 

**Crushin’It** : Oh come on, it’s a funny pun.

**JosuBosu** : Puns aren’t fucking funny

**YukaNO** : Seconded.

**HiroHero** : Thirded

**OkuYASu** : Hey! puns are funny!

**Crushin’It** : Thank you for showing me solidarity, Okuyasu. You are once again my star pupil.

**OkuYASu** : NICE! Wait I wasn’t before? Wes!!

**Crushin’It** : Also, Yukako, isn’t your screen name a pun?

**YukaNO** : That is an entirely different circumstance. 

**Crushin’It** : How so?

**YukaNO** : Mine is funny. 

**_JosuBosu_ ** _ changed the chat name to “ _ **_Pun Oppression Zone”_ **

**Crushin’It** : Come on Josuke. 

**Crushin’It** : I thought we had a heart to heart. 

**Crushin’It** : Don’t do this to me. 

**HiroHero** : Josuke had a heart to heart with someone?

**OkuYASu** : Josuke had a heart to heart with YOU _? _

**JosuBosu** : Everyone shut up 

**JosuBosu** : You’re supposed to be oppressing Wesley 

**JosuBosu** : Not me 

**Crushin’It** : You’re the one with heart shaped pins on your cadet uniform. It’s really not much of a secret.

**JosuBosu** : Goddamnit. I should never have opened up to you. You have too much power now 

**OkuYASu** : They make him feel rebellious 

**JosuBosu** : I AM REBELLIOUS

**Crushin’It** : Oh Most Definitely, Josuke. We’re all very impressed and intimidated

**JosuBosu** : I take it all back, you ARE a horrible person 

**Crushin’It** : Oh I Absolutely Am. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a love-hate relationship with Joseph but I LOVE Part 4 Jotaro. Also I am so sorry to New York for taking away that one fight in part 2. The demands of California-centric Star Trek, I guess. Also Beverly and Jotaro are very good friends and I won't hear anything otherwise
> 
> Also Pun Oppression Zone is a direct rip from my dynamic with my lovely beta Dim-Shim.


	5. Week 4: Sweet Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okuyasu and Wesley have a conversation on the nature of time

“Do you ever feel like a lot of your childhood went by without you ever getting to like, be in it?” The complete non sequitur landed in Wesley’s lap as he kept looking over his viewscreen. There was an exam tomorrow, and so they had camped out in Wesley’s room, complete with an abundance of replicated snacks that made Wesley slightly worried about the state of Okuyasu’s replicator allowance for the week. 

In spite of all the stress, it had actually taken them quite a while to actually get working. First there had been the opening of the snacks, then there had been a crucial interruption by Josuke via relay, then Okuyasu just couldn’t get his head around the first set of instructions, and the ensuing pit of “I’m going to fail aren’t I.”

All this to say, by the time they were both settled in to actually reading through the file on their own before comparing notes, it was already very late, and Okuyasu was clearly feeling that when he opened his mouth.

“Uh. Sometimes, I guess.” Wesley mumbled. “Why do you ask?”

“I dunno I was just thinkin...like...I spent a long time learning this shit...learning the basics to help out my bro in the engine room...and apart from that there just. Like after a certain point it just felt like there was always a crisis, y’know? Like first it was my mom, then what  _ Dad  _ was doing, then, the stuff he found. Then it was  _ Keicho  _ and then  _ Dad, again... _ and before I knew it I was applying to the academy and...then all the shit with Josuke and Koichi an’ everyone last year...like I feel like I just started having...a normal life, y’know?” Okuyasu looked up from his position lying down with his PADD over his face and legs (politely de-shoed) against Wesley’s wall.

“Yeah. That makes sense.” A bit too much sense, if Wes was being honest, but he didn’t want to interrupt. 

“And like...it just feels weird I’m on my way out of all that and...like...I feel so behind everyone else.”

“I mean...you don’t have to.” Wesley said without really thinking. 

“Whaddya mean?”

“Well. Like. Who cares if you didn’t have all the trappings of a ‘normal’ childhood? What does that even mean, y’know? Like sure, it’s all formative, and that put you onto a track, and you’re still young, right? You have plenty of time to ‘catch up’ if you want to.”

“I mean it’s not really the same. Like I can’t do all that dumb middle school small town shit that happened when all the shit with Dad and Keicho went down, right? That’s...over. An, even when we  _ did  _ get to do that stuff, it always felt like...like it was just to make up for everything else that was going on, y’know?”

“What’s so wrong with that?” Wesley tightened his grip on his stylus, trying to pound more calculations into his brain to replace the emotions bubbling up inside it.

“Well- I dunno. It just kinda...feels...fake? Like I want to have memories where that happens because things are  _ good  _ and I’m having  _ fun,  _ y’know, not like...like I  _ have  _ to cause so much else is fucked up at the moment.”

“Sometimes, that’s the best you can do.” It came out heavier than he wanted it to, but he was tired, and this was making him feel  _ too much.  _ “At least you’re on a good track right now, right?”

“I mean I  _ guess  _ but it still  _ sucks. _ ” Okuyasu kicked his feet a bit, and made small thumping noises that banged against the clanging in Wesley’s brain. 

“Well, just count yourself lucky you get to do all this complaining  _ now. _ ” His voice got thicker again, without meaning to. Okuyasu’s feet paused. 

“Whaddaya saying?”

“You didn’t get a good childhood, and that  _ sucks.  _ It really does. But you  _ can _ at least  _ grow  _ from that. You can only really go up, and it’s so clear that you’re going to! Better to start off a little behind than to get ahead and then  _ make  _ yourself fall down again right?”

“Is this about the whole “repeating a year” thing? Cause that’s not like  _ that  _ bad.”

“It’s not...well it is. I mean-” Wesley stumbled over his words, not thinking Okuyasu would actually call him on it. That was, he supposed, the trouble with lying, about concealing just how much things bugged him. “Okay it is but. I...I really fucked up, last year. On a lot of stuff. And. I let a  _ lot  _ of people down, and now they’re never going to  _ trust  _ me again and just. I’m never going to bounce back from that. No matter what I do and-.” Damnit the lights on his desk were making him tear up.

“Wesley that’s...really dumb.” Okuyasu laughed, not unkindly. “There’s no way  _ you  _ could have done something  _ so  _ bad as that. What did you even do?” And suddenly Wesley froze, and his spine prickled with tension, and he could not,  _ would  _ not turn around. He needed to say it out loud. He needed to tell Okuyasu the truth, even if it meant Okuyasu wouldn’t want him as a tutor anymore. 

“I killed someone- well. Indirectly. But. I killed someone.” That’s what it felt like. That’s what the little holoimage of Josh on his bedside table would always say. That’s what the little Picard in his head would tell him.  _ Someone isn’t alive today and it’s your fault. _

“Wait  _ what?”  _ Even if he wasn’t looking, Wesley could hear Okuyasu’s feet skid to the side in shock as he rolled over. “Wesley what the  _ fuck  _ do you mean?”

“I...uh. Did you hear anything at all about that accident before graduation last year?”

“You mean with Nova Squadron?”

Wesley just nodded. Somehow this was harder than when it had actually happened. Maybe it was because he knew he would lose someone else as a result. 

“What happened with that?”

“We uh. We wanted to do this one really um. Challenging move. Like illegal type challenging. And uh...well one of our teammates, my uh...friend, Josh...he died while we were practicing it and he-he had told us he didn't wanna do it but we did it anyway.” Okuyasu was quiet for a very long time, which was unusual for him. Wesley kept his eyes shut. “Listen let’s just get back to studying-”

“Is that all?”

“Oh uh. No. We also uhm. Lied about it during the investigation. Like a lot.”

“And?”

“And what? We got our friend killed. Then we acted like it was his fault until I felt bad enough to tell the truth last minute, which got the team captain expelled. I fucked it all up end of story-” Wesley opened his eyes out of confusion and frustration, just to see Okuyasu, now sitting atop his desk, staring down at him with an unreadable expression. 

“Wes that’s like. Nothing. I mean it  _ sucks,  _ and you did something  _ bad,  _ don’t get me wrong but like. You fucked up, like, maybe twice? In that whole thing?”

“Yeah and someone  _ died-”  _

“Wesley - I’m pretty sure that, if given the chance, half the people you met at that party would kill a man. I’m not entirely  _ convinced  _ that Rohan and Yukako  _ don’t  _ have at least one corpse between them. I have faced creeps, and murderers, and  _ weird exploding cats.  _ So forgive me if I don’t think “Oh my friend died tangentially because I did something bad” is grounds for “worst fuckup of the year award.”” Wesley laughed a little, despite himself and also because he was suddenly much more scared of Yukako. 

“You don’t know that.”

“No but what I do know is that you’re smart, and so it’s weird that I’m the one telling you to take your own advice.”

“And that is?”

“Just cause something is a little fucked up, doesn’t mean it’ll be that way forever. Like yeah, we got messed with, we  _ lost  _ shit, but like. We’re in the best position now to take it back, or at least make something of what we’ve got. Maybe not thinking you  _ should  _ be something is...better, y’know?” Okuyasu quirked an eyebrow in amusement at Wesley’s shocked expression. 

“When did you get so smart?”

“I’ve always been smart. It just didn’t kick into high gear till you acted dumb.” Okuyasu gave a big, stupid grin, which Wesley returned with a bit less enthusiasm before wiping his eyes so he could get back to work. Unfortunately, Okuyasu  _ also  _ noticed this. “Wait bro, were you crying just now?”

“No-” Wesley sniffled, “I just- I’m tired and my eyes are watering.” This was, as you can imagine, completely unconvincing, and led to Okuyasu laughing. Extensively. 

“Aw man, crying in front of a student, not very professional, Mr. Crusher.” He teased, kicking lightly at Wesley’s leg, face lit brilliantly by the desk lamp, closing out the dark of the rest of the room. 

“No, uh...not very ‘cash money’ of me, I suppose.” Okuyasu seemed to choke on his laughter a bit at Wesley’s choice of phrase, collapsing off of the desk in a way that seemed deservedly painful. 

“You’re gonna be the  _ death  _ of me, bro-” Wesley looked down at where Okuyasu still lay on the floor, face red with amusement in a way that made his chest go light. There was a gentleness to the moment that made Wesley feel more at home than he really should have. Wesley considered contemplating  _ why  _ he was so desperate for this connection to continue, but ultimately decided in favor of lightly nudging at the Cadet’s shoulder with his foot. 

“I won’t  _ need  _ to be if you don’t get back to the review file. I’m still not convinced you  _ actually  _ understand pressure gauging the way you’re saying it.”

“Yes sir.” Okuyasu sat up with a goofy salute, returning to the bed to get his notes. 

They worked in silence for a little while longer, save for little jokes or clarifying questions, and then just melting off into the quiet of fatigue. 

“Hey Okuyasu?” Wesley asked out into the silence, not sure the other was even awake.

“Yeah, Wes?” came the muffled noise from his bed, which Wesley was  _ not  _ having butterflies in his stomach about those implications, thank you very much. 

“Thanks.”

“No prob, bro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LET 👏 OKUYASU 👏 BE 👏UPSET. Yeah so this really is the HURT part of the hurt and comfort. Please help my boys.


End file.
